Only the thought of my wife kept me from ending it all

Former bank executive Christopher Bridgeford was almost driven to suicide as he struggled to cope with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Chris, 58, from Forres, says: “I became suicidal because of the waiting times to see specialists and the despair of not being believed for many years.

“For years, doctors actually challenged me about whether I was really ill.

“How anyone would wish to give up a great career and live with the constant pain and exhaustion I feel is beyond me, but I finally got a correct diagnosis several years ago.

“Life is a daily battle of trying to get the correct pain medication and treatment.”

One of his lowest points came just before his CRPS diagnosis.

Chris said: “All I wanted was a trigger point pain relief injection but I’d been passed around from doctor to doctor for months.

“Only the thought of leaving my wife Rosie stopped me ending it all.”

Christopher runs a chronic pain support group, Affa Sair, and says there are thousands suffering with pain and facing unacceptable waiting times.

He said: “We regularly hear of people having to wait up to 44 months.

“I’ve just received a pain clinic appointment after a year waiting.”

A spokesperson for NHS Grampian said: “We have been experiencing longer waiting times than we’d like with the Chronic Pain Service.

“This is partly as a result of significant challenges in recruiting enough staff.”